Maybe
by TheOnlyMeThereIs
Summary: I'm as much of a Kagome/Inuyasha fan as the next otaku, but I always felt sorry for Kikyo. One priestess gets jealous of her powers and her life is ruined. But maybe Tsubaki was killed before she had the chance to curse Kikyo... Maybe Kikyo and Inuyasha did have a happy ending...? Kikyo/Inuyasha. Rated T for swearing and maybe fluff in later chapters:)
1. Chapter 1-Tsubaki

**Kisshu'sgirlfriend: So, this is my first Inuyasha fic, and I'm quite excited to get started:) The first chapter won't be that good, but it should give you a rough idea of where I'm going with this...**

**Inuyasha: Am I in the first chapter? Do I get some new power or do I battle Naraku or something?**

**Kisshu'sgirlfriend: Well, I'm not gonna give away the story now am I? But seen as it's the first chapter, erm no?**

**Inuyasha: Well that sounds like a shit chapter to me. *crosses his legs and sulks.***

**Kagome: Inuyasha, SIT! Kisshu'sgirlfriend does not own Inuyasha or any of it's characters, bu any OC's, plots etc are rightfully hers.**

**Kisshu'sgirlfriend: Thanks Kagome, now on with the story...**

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"Stay out of it! I can do it by myself!"

"Tsubaki! Don't you dare attempt this alone! You're not ready for this!"

Doubt flittered across the priestess-in-training's eyes as she faltered for a second; but then the uncertainty melted away, leaving only stone-cold determination.

"I _will _do this alone." She demanded, watching arrogantly as her master hesitated, before nodding sadly.

Tsubaki turned to face her opponent: a club-wielding demon at least three times her height with eyes of flame and teeth like icicles. She raised her hand in a gesture before her face and shut her eyes, concentrating hard. The demon smiled smugly. _Is this all I have to compete with?_

Behind her, the priest watched nervously, ready to step forward should anything go wrong with the exorcism. This particular demon had been harassing the nearby village for almost a month now, and when he had begun to kidnap the villagers' women, they had finally given in and asked the help of the priest and his apprentice.

By now, Tsubaki had moved on to an exorcism chant, and was waving her hand in a spiritual gesture, but little did she notice that her attempts were failing, and the youkai she was attempting to eradicate had moved his focus from her to her master. In one huge gush of flame, the demon turned the holy man to mere ashes, before turning back to a now trembling Tsubaki.

Her lip quivering, Tsubaki continued her chant, now speeding up considerably, but it was too late. The demon laughed evilly, then fired a red-hot flame at her slender body. She screamed and tried to cover her face, but the fire had already begun to consume her. Within seconds, Tsubaki was a pile of ashes just like her master.

"Be gone youkai!" A strong voice shouted from behind the demon.

It whirled around in surprise just in time to see a glowing arrow twang from the bow of a second priestess. The sacred arrow sped through the air and hit the demon square in the chest. It shattered instantly into black powder and disappeared, leaving behind no trace.

"Tsubaki. You really were a fool."

Kikyou shouldered her bow and approached the two piles of ashes before her. The gentle wind was already beginning to blow Tsubaki and her master's remains away, and so Kikyou quickly muttered a prayer for them, leading them on into the afterlife. She sighed.

When she had first heard from some travelers that a black-haired priestess and her master were exorcising a demon in the next settlement, Kikyou had been, at first, indifferent. But then she had sensed the evil aura from the direction of the exorcism, and not long after, felt the presence of her old master leaving this world. It was then that she had made her way quickly to the village, just in time to see Tsubaki being sent to the underworld.

Kikyou gazed sadly at the sky. Life was a strange thing: you never know when it will end, but when it does that's it. You don't usually get a second chance. _Would I come back if I had the chance? Kikyou_ wondered. _Probably not; it's not like I have anything, or anyone, to come back for anyway. No. When I die, I shall die, and that will be the end._

She glanced one more time at the field in which Tsubaki had lost her life. The ashes had now been completely scattered by the wind, leaving nothing but fresh green grass where they had been. _Find peace Tsubaki, heaven knows you wouldn't have found it on Earth, _Kikyou thought as she turned her back on the scene.

The afternoon sun was beaming down on her, and there was not a cloud in the sky. Kikyou smiled; she couldn't put a finger on what it was, but the priestess had a strange happiness in her heart, like something important had just happened that would change her life for the better. Little did she know that it had.

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**Thanks for reading the first chapter- hopefully you'll go on the read the next as well:) The story will get better, I promise; just cut me a bit of slack for my first chapter:) reviews please:D**


	2. Chapter 2-Onigumo's Death

**Thanks to those who reviewed, means a lot:) and to the guest review: I wasn't meaning that Tsubaki killed Kikyou, I was referring to the curse Tsubaki places on her that means she will die if she falls in love. (I think it's episode 147-148 or something?)**

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"Throw him into the river men!"

Onigumo's broken and severely burned body was swung three times by four strong bandits, and then launched into the raging gushes of water below. Down, down, down, he plummeted, the wind whistling faintly in his damaged ears until… crash. Onigumo hit the surface of the water…

_Am I dead?_

…

_We can't see and we can't move… so are we dead?_

…

_**But surely if we were dead we would at least be able to move…?**_

_**Or maybe this is part of the twisted existence we all endure. Maybe this is life's last little punch in the face. Or are our sins finally coming back to haunt us?**_

_No. No, we are not dead. Because if we were dead, we would not have this burning pain in our stomach. We wouldn't have the dull ache all over our body or the sharp pain in our ribs every time we take a breath. But you're right about one thing Onigumo._

_**And what is that Onigumo?**_

_This is life's last little punch in the face. Life is clinging on to us by its fingertips and laughing in our face. We _should _be dead. But we are not. We are alive, and painfully so._

_**Well screw this. I'm leaving. I don't want to live like this!**_

_Where will you go Onigumo? I am us. You can't just leave me here, stranded in our body!_

_**Yes I can! And I will! I am going to die!**_

_Please don't Onigumo! Don't leave me here… please?_

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And so, as he lay paralyzed on the rocky shore, Onigumo slipped further and further into dull and painful madness. With no-one to talk to but himself, the betrayed bandit awaited death with a heaviness in his heart.

But it was not until the third day of his being there, the day that a dark-haired priestess wandered by with her younger sister, that he finally died.

Kikyou and Kaede were on their way to a nearby village, the inhabitants of which had asked them to seal a particularly troublesome demon.

"Oneesama, what is that? Down by the river bank?" Kaede asked her older sister, pointing to an indistinguishable mass below the path.

"I don't know Kaede. Stay here."

With that, Kikyou set off down the steep slope towards the river, only to be hit with a foul, rotting odor as she approached the lump. Scrunching up her nose, Kikyou realized that the strange mess was actually a corpse! She recoiled at the sight: the man's skin was red with burns, and his back was bent in an unnatural way. Half of his face seemed to have been eaten off, and one of his legs was missing.

From what she could gather, Kikyou decided that the man must have been burned in a fire, washed downstream and starved on the bank before finally dying. Pity overwhelmed her pure being, and in a moment of sympathy, Kikyou prayed for Onigumo, sending his soul on to a better place, before heaving his mangled body back into the river to be washed away.

It wouldn't do for children to find his corpse whilst playing, and even Kikyou did not have the stomach to carry him to the nearest village and have him buried.

She clambered back up the bank and joined her sister on the path.

"What was it oneesama?" Kaede questioned her sister.

"A very unfortunate man." Was all Kikyou replied, setting off towards the settlement once more.

Once again, Kikyou felt as if fate had been altered. As if what she had just done was an important part of her life. But the priestess brushed these thoughts away and continued on her journey. _You're just being silly Kikyou._ She scolded herself…

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**By the way, is it Kikyo or Kikyou? Because there are subs with both, and some fics say Kikyo, but then the charcter list says Kikyou... confused:/**

**Review pleaseee:)**


	3. Chapter 3-What Sets Me Apart

_While other girls my age are applying rouge to their lips and flirting with the village men, I am out with my bow and arrow killing and sealing demons who seek the shikon jewel. Being a priestess isn't easy, but it's my duty. I was the one chosen to protect the sacred jewel, and so I shall…_

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It was as I was walking through the forest one morning, after chasing away a group of violent demons trying to steal the sacred jewel, that I saw him. A tall, well-built man wearing flowing robes of bright, vermillion red with waist length white hair that flew down over his back and swung about him. I knew his purpose here immediately. Even if his small, white ears and yellow, slitted eyes had not given him away, my powers as a priestess would have alerted me to the fact that this man was no ordinary human.

He was a demon, and demons had only one interest in me- the shikon jewel.

I narrowed my eyes. Something was strange about this one, however. He may carry the aura of his demonic origin around him like a plague, but there was something unmistakably human about him at the same time. I frowned.

He was a half-demon, presumably after the jewel in order to become a fully-fledged demon. Well, whatever his reason, he had to be stopped. The jewel was mine to protect. I pulled an arrow from the quiver on my back and fit it smoothly onto my bow.

"Who are you?" I asked defensively, pulling back the tight string, ready to loose my weapon.

The half-demon scoffed. "I am Inuyasha. Fighting me is futile priestess, I _will_ have the jewel!"

My eyes narrowed once more. I did not reply, but neither did I strike. There was something… strangely pleasing about his appearance… was he… attractive? No. _No_. He was a demon, and what's more, he wanted the shikon jewel and was prepared to fight me for it.

But still I did not shoot. Seconds passed on the humming wings of bees and still neither of us advanced. I flexed my fingers in warning, tapping the wooden bow with the pads of my fingertips. Then, suddenly, the half-demon leapt towards me, his clawed hands outstretched and his razor-sharp fangs glinting. Quickly, I released the arrow, sensing instinctively exactly where to aim in order to hit my target. The shaft if wood whizzed soundlessly through the air before imbedding its metal point in the demon's arm.

Inuyasha continued his flight-path, seemingly not bothered in the slightest by the arrow protruding from his right bicep, and I hurriedly prepared to fire again. Seeing the opportunity before it even arose, I aimed a little lower than the demons feet and waited half a second longer than I would have before releasing the tension. Once again, an arrow whooshed silently, but this time, instead of sinking through warm skin, the point sunk deep into the brittle flesh of a tree, pinning the demon to its trunk via the sleeve of his robe.

He hissed when he realized what had happened, and growled at me as I approached him, hanging from the arm suspended above his head. I walked briskly toward him, my hand ready to reach for a third arrow if necessary and saw as I did so, a split seconds confusion brush across his face. It disappeared as quickly as it had flashed across, but left in its place a foreign curiosity. When I was but a step away from him, I drew out, from an inner pocket in my garments, an enchanted thread which I tied around his bound wrist. Muttering a few words, I sealed the accessory to him.

"What's that?" He spat.

"Something that will keep you from bothering me again." I replied calmly.

"Ha! I'll rip it off with my teeth! Nothing will stop me from getting the shikon jewel!" he boasted.

I did not reply. The thread would only work for a few days, and even then it could not stop him from attacking me outside of my home village. All the enchantment would do was stop his movements if he tried to hurt me in any way. Realistically, I knew it would probably do nothing, but I hoped that by not telling him the true manner of the charm, he would think it was far more powerful, and so would not care to test what he could and couldn't do.

"_Don't _underestimate me!" he shouted as I began to turn my back on him.

I paused. Then I walked back over to the tree where he was frantically trying to pull the arrow from the tight wood.

"Don't underestimate _me, _Inuyasha," I warned, forming his name like one would form the word for some disgusting insect they had discovered on their pillow. I was so close I could feel his warm breath on my lips, and could see the angry flicker in his too-yellow eyes. The friction between us was unmistakable, and my heart was fluttering like a frightened robin. I hushed it with a disapproving thought.

"You will _never_ see that jewel as long as I live… and as long as that thread remains on your arm."

Then, taking one last spiteful look at the filthy demon, I strode away.

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**I'm so sorry that this has taken so long to update! I've seriously had so much on- it's unreal! If you can possibly forgive me, a review would be quite a nice little forgiveness present...:)**


	4. Chapter 4-Why didn't you just kill me?

"Why didn't you just kill me?"

I looked up, one hand already on the feather of an arrow.

The white-haired-half-demon jumped down from an overhead branch and landed a few feet in front of me.

I did not react to his presence. The thread tied around his thick wrist would protect me from him, and I had already proven to the vicious hound that I could hold my own against him.

"Answer me!" he demanded, one of his fists curling into a tight ball.

I flinched involuntarily. His harsh cry reverberated off the trees surrounding us, which magnified his voice sevenfold. I lifted my chin haughtily.

"What good would it have done? My duty is to protect the jewel, not slay every demon who ventures near the village."

"But you must know that I will continue to be a hindrance to you until the day I seize ownership of the shikon jewel? Why not just kill me straight out and rid yourself of the threat?"

His words were a million needles that stabbed at my pride unrelentingly. I did not know myself why I didn't just kill the persistent half-breed the moment he had threatened me. Perhaps it was his humanity that protected him from the steel of my arrows? Or was it…

"You are no threat to me," I said, cutting off my train of thought with harsh words. "It was my sympathy that saved your skin, Hanyō."

His amber eyes flashed as he felt the sting of my insult.

"How dare you call me Hanyō!" He yelled, baring his teeth and growling under his breath. "I am more powerful than any full demon, and I could rip you to shreds in a heartbeat!"

A chill rolled down my spine. I believed his words, but was not about to let on that he had affected me so.

"Try." I dared him.

He bent his knees, coiled to leap, and for a second I panicked that my enchantment would not hold, but then a look of absolute fury and frustration crossed his face and he dug his clawed nails into the palms of his hands. I relaxed.

"It seems you cannot even overcome my thread. Some demon you are."

I turned and walked away for the second time since meeting him…

Only to find myself face to face with a huge demon- blood dripping from its fangs and fire where its eyes should be! It cast aside the body it had just devoured and loomed towards me. how had I not noticed its scent or its presence? It was Inuyasha! His distraction had led me to my doom! There was no time to fire an arrow, and there was no way to run! I took a brief second to consider the future of the shikon jewel if I perished before deciding that the only way to go would be to die fighting this awful beast.

I reached behind me for my weapon even as the bulbous head of the gigantic monster flew towards my face, two foot long fangs appearing from behind black, cracked lips-

"Iron Reaver Soul Stealer!"

The sound of ripping and the putrid smell of burning flesh filled the air and I crouched low to the ground, sure my time on the earth was up. But then I realized I was still thinking, and that must mean I was still living. Slowly and carefully, I lifted my gaze and saw, stood before me like an arrogant peacock, was Inuyasha, the Hanyō who had just attempted to kill me.

Cursing, I picked myself up from the ground and shook off the stiffness in my spine.

"No threat to you, huh?" he asked smugly, dropping the remaining carcass to his feet.

"Hm." Was all I could manage.

He kicked aside the head of the beast that had almost devoured me and began to stride away.

"Inuyasha..!" I called unsurely after him.

He turned around a little too quickly, his eyes flecked with hope for less than a spilt second.

"Thank you." I said.

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**I know their meeting is different to that in the anime, but since so much has changed this time, I figured their meeting would have as well- thanks for reading, please review:)**


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